AEW News Roundup: Personal issue caused a massive star to leave Tony Khan's company, WWE legend's surprising debut, and more
Welcome to another edition of the AEW News Roundup, where we bring you some of the most interesting stories to have occurred in the world of All Elite Wrestling.
The first story will be about a founding member leaving the company because of a personal issue. Next, we'll explore some great news for Tony Khan & Co. as The Elite renewed their contracts.
The third and final story will be about how a former ECW original and WWE Hall of Famer made his shocking All Elite debut to confront Jack Perry on the latest episode of Dynamite.
Without further ado, let's begin the news roundup!
#3. Cody Rhodes left AEW because of a personal reason
Cody Rhodes has been tearing it up in WWE ever since he made his second debut at WrestleMania 38, where he defeated Seth Rollins. Since then, he has been on a rollercoaster ride and has gone on to main-event WrestleMania 39.
WWE recently released his documentary, American Nightmare: Becoming Cody Rhodes, and in that, Cody gave the reason as to why he left All Elite Wrestling, and it had nothing to do with money.
He said:
"This is my one request in this entire documentary. This one answer, I don’t want edited in any capacity. Don’t edit this part. I can’t tell you why I left AEW. I can’t, and I won’t, but I’ll tell you the reasons that were said that didn’t actually matter. I didn’t leave AEW because of money and I didn’t leave AEW because of other talents. I left AEW because of a personal issue. That’s it. The byproduct of leaving AEW is the opportunity to go for the biggest dream I ever had and the first dream I had in my life," said Rhodes. [H/T: Ringside News]
#2. The Elite re-signs
The Elite (Kenny Omega, Hangman Adam Page, and The Young Bucks) renewed their contracts for multiple years in what will be a sigh of relief for Tony Khan. There were a lot of rumors that WWE was going to poach them, given that their previous deals were due to end in late 2023.
With the futures of his top stars now secure, Tony Khan can think of ways to incorporate them in top storylines and angles and make the best use of their talents, especially with All In at Wembley Stadium right around the corner.
#1. Rob Van Dam makes his shocking debut
WWE Hall of Famer and ECW original Rob Van Dam made his All Elite Wrestling debut on this week's Dynamite and confronted Jack Perry. Perry was running his mouth and challenged Jerry Lynn to a fight after last week’s confrontation between the two.
While Lynn said that no doctor would allow him to compete given his issues with his neck, he said he made a phone call to an old friend of his, and that's when RVD came out, surprising everyone inside the arena.
Rob Van Dam and Jack Perry now seem set to go head-to-head for the FTW title, and it will certainly be a match worth watching.